"Sepulchral Rites"

Listening to Obliteration can be disorienting. To wit, the raw, loose Norwegian metal quartet comes from Kolbotn, the same town that birthed Darkthrone. And “Sepulchral Rites”—the delirious stunner on the back half of their third album, Black Death Horizon—summons the latter days of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, so much so that you might need to check the credits for reassurance. The song’s mix of hardcore stomp and tidal guitars, demented howls and black metal build is as intoxicating as it is aberrant, a powerful piece of heavy metal alchemy.

At the start of the song’s back half, Sindre Solem slurs, “Satan is the embodiment of destruction,” giving his devilish head an enthusiastic grin. Black Death Horizon is the proper North American debut for Obliteration, as well as their first release on Relapse. But don’t worry so much about the cognitive dissonance of the band’s place or time: If you liked to hear Celtic Frost and Darkthrone go out searching for something strange, Obliteration wields that weirdness like a newborn superpower.